30% of People Buy Healthy Foods Just Because They’re Trendy

A survey of 2,000 adults looked at their food purchasing practices and found that 65% rate their grocery shopping habits as at least somewhat healthy.

The survey found that 82% opt for products that use “health washing” terms — labels intended to convey a product’s health benefits — like “multigrain”, “sugar-free” and “organic”.

Among those terms, others that respondents view positively are “high-in” and “free-range”.

Above all, the top grocery category adults would be willing to splurge on is organic produce (25%).

With all of the different healthwashing terms out there, nearly a third of those surveyed feel overwhelmed by the labels on their foods while shopping (31%).

GROCERY ITEMS ADULTS WOULD SPEND MORE MONEY ON

1. Organic produce — 25%
2. “High in” (e.g., vitamins, calcium, etc.) — 24%
3. Sugar-free — 21%
4. “Reduced” products (e.g., reduced fat, reduced sugar, etc.) — 20% [TIED]
5. Free-range —20% [TIED]
6. Multigrain — 20%
7. “Fortified with” (e.g., vitamins, minerals, etc.) — 19%
8. Organic dairy — 16%
9. “Light” products (e.g., light salad dressing, light salt, etc.) — 16%
10. Pasture-raised — 12%